Fuse igniter.



- R. GONINGS.

IUSB IGNITEB.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1909.

Patented Sept. 20, 1910.

INVENTOR fiwa 002M475 I I By M wmvzssm ATTORNE rs r f TE DESTATESPATENTOFFIGEQ RENE commas, or PITTSBURG, KANSAS.

. FUSE-IGNITER.

Specification of Letters Patent-1 Patented Sept. 20, 1910-.

Application fil'ed November 2, 1909. Serial No. 525,866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RENE OONINGS, a subject of the King of Belgium, and.a resident of Pittsburg, in the county. of Crawford and State of Kansas,have invented a new and Improved Fuse-Igniter, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description. This invention relates to fuse1gn1ters for use in mines and the like, to ignite the fuses used todetonate blasting or other explosive charges, and relates moreparticularly to a' fuse igniter having an igniting chamber, means forintroducing the end" of a fuse into the chamber, and means for ignitingthe 'fuse within the chamber so that no flame or spark can escape fromthe device.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive andefficient fuse igniter, which can be easily and expeditiouslymanipulated, by means of which fuses can be ignited in. mines or thelike, without danger of causing explosions due to the fir ing ofaccumulations of gas which may have collected in the neighborhood of afuse, and which involves no loss of time or labor in the lighting of the fuse.

I The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts tobe more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in theclaims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a 'partofthis specifi-' cation, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views, and in which I Figure'l is 'apartial, longitudinal section of an embodiment of my invention, showinga-fuse associated therewith; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device;Fig. 3 is an enlarged end viewshowing the means for holding thefuse;Fig. 4 is. an enlarged, transversesection on the line H of Fig. 2; andFig. 5 is a similar view' on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Before proceeding to a more detailed exvarious parts of the-workings,and unless certain precautions are-taken these accumulations' of gas caneasilybe ignited to result in dangerous explosions. 'To, obviate thepossibility of such explosions, lamps known as Davys lamps are used, in-which the flames are -1ncased in wire gauze or other w 7 I dangerouslyexplosiveoften accumulate in reticulate or-perforate hoods or covers,-

which in accordance with a well-known sclentific prm'ciple prevent thetransmission of the flame to the outside of the gauze. I have employedthis principle in my fuse igniter, which includes a chamber wherein theend of the fuse is received and ignited by suitable means, the chamberhaving a reticulate or perforate wall to permit. the entrance of thenecessary air, though preventing the escape of flame or sparks to theoutside. Referring'more particularly to the drawings, I employ a wickcontainer 10 fashioned from sheet metal or the like and preferably ofsubstantially cylindrical form, and pro- I vided with roundedextremities 11 and 12. The extremity 11 may be provided with an eye 13by means of which the igniter can be hungupon a hook or can be attachedto a' carrying loop or the like. The container has a closing slide 14arranged to move in guides 15-, and provided with a projection 16 bymeans of which it can be manipulated. The slide serves to close theopening of the container, and permits the introduction into the same ofthe-wick 17. The end 12 of the container has associated therewith thewick tube 18 through which the wick 17 extends.

The wick tube intermediate its ends isextended to form a substantiallycylindrical barrel "19 in which are journaled grooved rollers 20 adaptedto gripthe wick and arranged to be manipulated from the outside ofthe'barrel'by means of a stem 21 having a burred head 22. By turning thehead 22 .in one direction or the other, the wick is advancedlongitudinally of the wick tube by means 'of the rollers which aresuitably geared together in the usual manner The rollers are 0 rated bysuitably incased gears (not shownii The igniting chamber 23 ispreferably cy-i li'ndricalinform and has openings 24 at opposit e sides.These dpenings are covered with metal gauze-25 or thelike, which maybeof any suitable reticulate or perforate form. The igniting chamber has aneck 26 adapted to be slidably mounted at the end of the wick tube 12,and having a bayonet slot 27 adapted to co-act with a stud 28.0f thewick tube to hold the igniting) chamber removably in position. It will eunderstood that bymeansofthe advancing device the wick 17 can be movedinto or retracted from the igniting chamber as desired. The wick ispreferably of cotton, and when 1gn1ted merely smolders and is consumedslowly and radually. The end of tlie igniting cham er remote from thecontainer is open and has mounted thereon a fixed jaw 29 having asubstantially cylindrical, longitudinal groove 30 and at the endslaterally extended lips 31. The ignitin chamber has extensions 32between whic is pivoted, by means of a suitable pin 33, a movable jaw 34havin a longitudinal, substantially semi-circu ar groove 35 adapted toregister w th the groove 30 to form a substantially circular opening inwhich part of the fuse 36 can be received. The jaw 34 has a handle37 bymeans of which it can be conveniently manipulated, the handle extendinglongitudinally of the device as is shown most clearly in Fig. 2. A sprin38 tends to hold the movable jaw normal y closed. The movable jaw, itwill be seen, seats against the fixed jaw between the lips 31 and theigniting chamber, so that when the end of a fuse is held between thejaws, air is excluded from entering the igniting chamber through theopen ,endthereof.

The container of the igniter serves as the means for grasping it, thedevice being so proportioned that itcan be conveniently held in any Waywith the thumb upon the handle 37. When it is desired to ignite a fusethe handle 37 is depressed to open the jaws, and the end of the fusewhich has previously been split by means of a knife or other suitabletool, is inserted mto the igniting tube. The wick, which has been previously lighted, so that it is smoldering, is

then turned up until it is brought into engagement with the end of thefuse so that the latter is ignited. The'handle 37 is again depressed torelease the fuse and the device is withdrawn. The operator then passesto a place of safety. It Wlll be understoodthat these operations can beperformed in a very short space of time and that there is no danger ofcommunicating the fire or sparks to any gas which may have accumulatedin the neighborhood of the fuse, for the spark travels along within thefuse after the latter has been lighted at the split end.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: I

1. A device of the class described, comprising an igniting chamber,means for removably holding the end of a fuse within said chamberya wickfor igniting the fuse,

- er associated therewith, and means for advancing a wick from saidcontainer into said gnltlng chamber, said igniting chamber havmg anopening adapted to permit the entrance of a fuse into. said ignitingchamber, and meansfor holding the fuse and closing said opening of saidigniting chamber.

3. A device of the class described, com prismg an igniting chamberhaving a perforate wall, means for removably holding the end of a fusewithin said chamber, a wicka for ignitihg the fuse, and meansfor'advancing the wick'into said chamber.

4. A deviceof the class described, comprising a wick-container, anigniting chamber associated therewith and havinga wall 1 fashioned fromgauze, means for advancing a wick from said container into said ignitingchamber, said i iting chamber havmg an opening adapte to permit theentrance or.

a fuse into said igniting chamber, and! means for holding the fuse andclosing said opening of said ignitin chamber.

v 5. A device of the rass described, comprising a wick-containe having awick tube,

means for advancing a wick through said 1 wick tube from said container,an igniting chamber associated with said wick tube adapted to receivethe end of the fuse, said igniting chamber having a reticulate wall andat' the end an opening, a fixed jaw at 1 said opening, a movable jaw atsaid opening,

said jaws being formed to receive the endof a fuse therebetween andbeing adapted to close said opening of said igniting chamber,

and means'for manipulating said movable aw. I

6. A device of the class described, comprising a wick-container having awick tube, means for advancing a wick through said wick tube from saidcontainer,'an i iting chamber associated with said wick tu e and adaptedto receive the end of the wick, said igniting chamber having areticulate wall and at. the end an opening, a fixed jaw at said opening,a movable jaw at said opening said jaws being formed to receive the end0 a fuse therebetween and being adapted to close said 0 ening of said iiting chamber, said movab e jaw having a andle associated therewith, anda spring controlling said handle, whereby sald jaws are normally closed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

RENE CONINGS.

Witnesses:

ANDREW J. CURRAN, J osnrn VARIOT.

